Howard Stern

Howard Stern married Alison Berns on June 4, 1978, after meeting her at Boston University and casting her in a student film about Transcendental Meditation. They had three daughters, Emily, Deborah, and Ashley. Stern and Berns separated in 1999 and divorced in 2001.

Stern began a relationship with model and television host Beth Ostrosky in 2000. They became engaged in 2007 and married at Le Cirque in New York City on October 3, 2008.

Stern began developing his broadcasting style at Boston University's radio station, where he hosted interview and comedy programs. His first show with fellow students, The King Schmaltz Bagel Hour, was canceled after its first broadcast because of a controversial comedy sketch. After graduating in 1976, he worked at radio stations including WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, WCCC in Hartford, WWWW in Detroit, and WWDC in Washington, D.C.

At WWDC, Stern teamed with Robin Quivers, who became a central member of his radio team. Their format combined self-deprecating humor, provocative interviews, and commentary on sex, celebrities, and bodily functions. After Stern's dismissal from WNBC in 1985, he joined WXRK in New York City, where The Howard Stern Show entered national syndication in 1986. The program eventually reached 60 markets and a peak audience of approximately 20 million listeners.

The show's provocative content brought repeated scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission. Stern left terrestrial radio after his final live broadcast in December 2005 and began broadcasting on Sirius in January 2006, where subscription radio gave him greater freedom over language and subject matter.

Stern's first book, Private Parts, was published in 1993 and became a number-one New York Times best seller. He followed it with Miss America in 1995, which also debuted at number one. His third book, Howard Stern Comes Again, was released in 2019 and combined memoir material with selections from his interviews.

Private Parts was adapted into a 1997 biographical comedy film starring Stern, Robin Quivers, and Fred Norris as versions of themselves. The film opened at number one at the U.S. box office, and its soundtrack reached number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum.

Stern expanded his radio work into television with The Howard Stern Show on WWOR-TV from 1990 to 1992 and the celebrity interview program The Howard Stern Interview on E! from 1992 to 1993. His radio show was also filmed for the E! series Howard Stern, which ran from 1994 to 2005. He later executive-produced Son of the Beach, a parody of Baywatch that aired on FX from 2000 to 2002.

In 2011, Stern joined America’s Got Talent as a judge, replacing Piers Morgan. Production moved to Radio City Music Hall to accommodate his radio schedule, and Stern remained on the program through its tenth season before leaving in 2015. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2012.

Stern's Sirius years have included long-form interviews that placed greater emphasis on conversation than the confrontational style associated with his earlier broadcasts. His 2022 conversation with Bruce Springsteen became the HBO special The Howard Stern Interview: Bruce Springsteen.

He also interviewed President Joe Biden in 2024 and Vice President Kamala Harris in a live edition of The Howard Stern Show. These interviews extended his role beyond shock-oriented radio into political and cultural conversation.